


Observant

by astronomyparkers



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - Fandom, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, PeterMJ - Freeform, Spideychelle, and That Video from the same day, honestly everyone say thank u jon watts, inspired by Those Pics from the set of ffh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2019-09-20 14:36:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17024505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astronomyparkers/pseuds/astronomyparkers
Summary: Michelle Jones knew a lot of things.She knew a lot about third wave feminism, and her favourite books and authors on the subject.  She knew that if she called Flash Thompson by his real first name, Eugene, it would annoy him.  She knew how to make the best grilled cheese sandwiches (the key to which, by the way, was using sourdough bread and two types of cheese).  She knew the best hole-in-the-wall bookstores in Queens, where to find her mother’s favourite kind of bagels, and the perfect place in Central Park to sit and read on an autumn day.  She knew that her classmate, Peter Parker, had a secret.  She also knew that said secret was that he was Spider-Man, the crime fighting hero of Queens.  She knew a lot of things.But what Michelle Jones didn’t know, however, was why or when or how she had fallen for Peter Parker.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the pics from the FFH set that both killed me and gave me life. I may do a part 2??? We'll see. Enjoy! And follow me on tumblr @ astronomyparkers

Michelle Jones knew a lot of things.

She knew a lot about third wave feminism, and her favourite books and authors on the subject.  She knew that if she called Flash Thompson by his real first name, Eugene, it would annoy him.  She knew how to make the best grilled cheese sandwiches (the key to which, by the way, was using sourdough bread and two types of cheese).  She knew the best hole-in-the-wall bookstores in Queens, where to find her mother’s favourite kind of bagels, and the perfect place in Central Park to sit and read on an autumn day.  She knew that her classmate, Peter Parker, had a secret.  She also knew that said secret was that he was Spider-Man, the crime fighting hero of Queens.  She knew a lot of things.

But what Michelle Jones didn’t know, however, was why or when or how she had fallen for Peter Parker. 

She always liked him, sure.  She was in the same classes, was on the same teams.  And she kept tabs on him, of course.  Not in a stalker obsessed way, but in a curious way.  Peter Parker just happened to be more interesting than whatever their teachers were usually talking about, even before he got super powers from a lab experiment gone wrong.  Or from exposure to radiation.  Or from a magical wizard.  She was still a little hazy on the details.

Michelle had theories, of course, but no way to confirm if her theories were true.  Because Michelle Jones knew a lot of things.  She knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man.  That Peter Parker didn’t know that she knew he was Spider-Man.  So she knew that she couldn’t let him know that she knew, and instead had to pretend that she didn’t know that he didn’t know that she knew.  She thought.  Of course, that all went to hell when she realized she had fallen for him.  It went even further to hell when Spider-Man saved her life.

Another thing that Michelle knew?  Whenever Peter disappeared for Spider-Man duties.  Peter would duck out of the room, usually unnoticed, and his absence was covered by Ned.  Ned Leeds was, by anyone’s account, like Michelle in his intelligence, loyalty, and knowledge of Peter’s secret.  Ned Leeds was also, by anyone’s account, unlike Michelle in his inability to lie or keep a poker face.

Sometimes Michelle considered telling Ned that she knew, just so that he wouldn’t have to have an anxiety attack every time someone asked about Peter and where he had gone.  If Ned knew that she knew, then she would be able to cover for Peter without suspicion.  She already did it as much as she could, but she had to stay casual so Ned wouldn’t realize that she knew where Peter was.  And it would be nice, she thought.  To be part of something.  To be in on a secret, and have people know she was in on it.

That was the crux of it, really.  Why Michelle liked Peter so much.  Because he made her feel like she was in on the secret.  Michelle was proud to say that she didn’t need anyone, but sometimes…sometimes she wanted someone.  She didn’t have any friends before Peter and Ned.  She had sat with them just to have somewhere to sit.  But as she read her book, she’d been surprised to find that their conversations were amusing. 

Ned was such a positive person, it was almost contagious.  Michelle kept her face deadpan most of the time, but Ned was always able to coax even a hint of a smile out of her when he tried.  He had the funniest jokes, was always willing to help her with technology questions, and she didn’t even mind when he quoted Star Wars to her constantly.

And Peter was…Peter.  He made bad jokes and bailed on things last minute, and could recite pi up to seventy three digits off the top of his head.  He never gave up on anything, either.  If he didn’t get something the first time, he tried again and again until he did.  Michelle had to admire that in him.  Just as much as she admired his loyalty, his sense of right and wrong, and his good looks.

None of which she would admit to him.

As for falling for him...it had happened over time, slowly, even paced, until it hit her in the face like that car almost did.  She didn’t realize her feelings for Peter had changed until she was living a day, by all accounts, like any other.  A day that, to everyone else, _was_ like any other.

But not to her.

The realization had come during detention.  Looking back, it had been peaking for a while, just barely brimming at the edge of her brain for weeks.  The way she began to genuinely laugh at Peter’s dumb jokes, the way she always looked out the window of their chemistry class, just so she could get a glimpse of him before anyone else did when he ran in just before the bell.  How his fingers grazing hers when she lent him a pen in English almost made her entire arm numb.  All the signs were there.  But it was detention that made her notice it.

Peter had his usual after school detention, the product of all his unexcused absences (Michelle had once been confused by them—why would someone so smart skip class?  Now, she knew the truth).  And Michelle had her usual hobby of sketching those in detention as drawing practice, as well as a way to kill time.  So her coming to sit a few desks away from Peter, making him the subject of her drawing?  That was the usual.  But making Peter the subject of _all_ her drawings?  Of drawing him over and over, in more and more detail each time, until her sketchbook was completely full of Peter Parker?  That was not the usual.  That was far from it.

When Michelle realized what she had done, she sat back in her chair, staring at her book in confusion.  Peter’s sketched face stared back at her.

And so did his real face, she realized, when a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

“MJ?” Peter had whispered to her, snapping her out of her confusion. “Are you okay?”

Michelle’s head had snapped up, and she nodded quickly before shutting her sketch book tight. “Yeah.  Fine.” She pressed her lips together.

Peter glanced at the teacher supervising detention, who was half (or completely) asleep as a VCR tape of Captain America service announcements played on a TV from 2008.

“If you need to talk about something…” Peter shrugged, fiddling with his pen (Michelle knew he struggled to stay still, even before he got superpowers). “You can talk to me.”

Michelle tucked her sketchbook back in her bag, tucking her pencil into her bun. “Mhmm.” She stood up, hasty to get away from the situation.  For the first time in years, she could feel her face burning with embarrassment. “I’m fine.”

Before Peter could say anything else, Michelle had disappeared from the room.

She realized that day what she was really feeling for Peter Parker.  Although he had grown to be her friend, there was nothing friendly about the beating of her heart when she thought about him.

But still, if there was one thing Michelle knew, it was how to keep a secret.  She went home that day and hid her sketchbook in the back of her closet, and her feelings for Peter with it.  She folded them all down, neat and compact, until she could barely feel the fluttering of her heart when he smiled at her.

Barely.

The irony of it all, of course, was that Michelle was thinking about Peter when he saved her life.  She was so distracted by him that she didn’t notice the car about to crush her before Peter pulled her out of the way.  Before Spider-Man pulled her out of the way.

Just like the day she realized her feelings, Michelle hadn’t detected anything out of the ordinary.  She had gone to her classes, tried not to stare at the back of Peter’s head, covered his ass when she needed to (for someone so smart, she had no idea why he was stupid enough to mix his web fluid in chemistry class), and kept her head down.  Sure, sometimes she stole a glance, shy and nervous and totally unlike her normal persona, but that was it.  She didn’t allow herself any more.  No lingering touch when she passed him a pencil, no extra praise when he did well at their decathlon practice, no comment on the new maroon sweater he was wearing that made him look rugged and soft to the touch all at once.  Nothing.

But now, as she walked home, she was free to think of anything she wanted, with no worry of her poker face slipping.  The streets of Queens were filled with thousands of people, and no one would notice if an infatuated smile appeared on a teenage girl’s face.

Everything else happened so fast.  Fast enough that Michelle could barely process it in the moment.  She heard the skid of the tires, the honking of horns, of metal hitting metal and people beginning to scream.  She looked up and saw the car heading towards her approximately one millisecond before it should have hit.  She didn’t even have time to flinch.

When she finally did flinch, Michelle was already in the air.  She heard the rush of wind in her ears before she felt it, and for a moment she thought that she had died, was ascending from her body.  But then she registered the warmth that was wrapped around her, the pressure.  When Michelle opened her eyes, she saw the masked face of Peter staring back at her.  The face of Spider-Man.

She saw a bit of movement at the spot where his mouth should be, and realized he was speaking to her.  Michelle wasn’t sure if it was the sound of the wind or the shock preventing her from hearing, but either way, her feet were back on the ground before she could understand him.

“Are—are you okay?” Spider-Man said, his voice unmistakable. “Did you get hurt?”

“N-no.  No.” Michelle cleared her throat, suddenly aware of how close she was to him.  She let go of him, stepping back quickly. “I—thanks.”

“Uh, y-yeah.  Yeah, don’t—don’t mention it.” Peter (he would always be Peter to her) said weakly.

There was the sound of sirens in the distance, and Peter glanced over his shoulder nervously.

“I-I should—”

“Yeah.” Michelle agreed quickly, nodding her head. “Yeah, you should…go save people.”

“Right.” Peter mimicked her nod, his head bobbing rapidly.  Then he held up a hand, the movement a little awkward.

Almost instinctively, Michelle extended hers too, high-fiving him as if she was Ned and they were in the school cafeteria.  She then stepped back immediately, embarrassed, and fixed her curls behind her ears haphazardly.

“Okay, then.” Peter said, nervousness still laced in his voice.  He brought his hand to his neck, touching the edge of his mask.  Like he was making sure it was still there. “Alright, I-I’ll see you.  Get home safe, MJ.”

Before Michelle could say a word, he shot a web at a building and swung off, back to where he was needed.

Michelle Jones knew a lot of things.  She knew a lot about third wave feminism, and her favourite books and authors on the subject.  She knew everything there was to know about Peter Parker.  And she also knew that, even if she hadn’t been aware of his secret identity, she would have after that day.  Because Spider-Man called her MJ, just like Peter did.

Michelle Jones knew a lot of things.  But she had no idea how to handle this.


	2. II

By the time Peter Parker realized he had fucked up, he was already home in bed.

The day had been as normal as the day of a teenage superhero in New York could be.  He had gone to school, aced an English pop quiz on Macbeth, and had lunch with Ned and Michelle.  He had even made Michelle laugh, an honest-to-God, uncontrollable laugh, with one of his jokes, which normally just earned him an eyeroll, and, occasionally, the smallest of smirks.  Next had come chemistry, where he began mixing a new batch of web fluid without anyone detecting him, and robotics club after that.  It wasn’t until he was patrolling after school that things had taken a turn for the abnormal.

When Peter had seen the car coming for Michelle, he first thought he wouldn’t make it to her in time.  The thought of not being able to save her…Peter turned over onto his back in bed, rubbing his eyes.  He couldn’t allow himself to think of what could have happened.  Instead, he focused on what _did_ happen.  He saved MJ.  He pulled her away from the car, he made sure she was okay, held her in his arms…

Peter cleared his throat, squeezing his eyes shut.  Holding MJ so close to him…he had liked it more than he should. 

Michelle Jones had been a bit of an enigma for so long that when she began to open herself up to Peter, he had dived in head first.  Getting to know Michelle was a privilege that she didn’t grant to many people, and Peter didn’t take the gift lightly.  Every time Michelle let down a bit of her guard in front of Peter, he felt a sense of pride, which turned into affection, which turned into…

Peter wasn’t sure.  He knew he admired MJ; she was one of the smartest people he knew, not just at school, but on the streets, too.  She taught him all about social issues, helped him challenge himself in how he acted and the things he did, and so much more.  She was witty and honest and observant and beautiful.  To some, she was abrasive, but to Peter…she was everything.

Peter sighed to himself and rubbed his eyes again.  _Everything_ wasn’t exactly how someone was supposed to think of their best friend.  And yet.

The events of that day entered Peter’s mind again.  He had pulled Michelle tight to him as he swung her away from the car crash, and checking to make sure she was okay had been just as much for him as it was for her.  He knew he wouldn’t have been able to leave until he knew MJ was okay.  And MJ, in her typical fashion, told him to go back to saving people.  He had nodded, reached for a high-five, and tried not to get flustered when _she_ seemed flustered.  She had tucked her hair behind her ears, and he loved the look on her face.  He was almost upset when he had to say goodbye, but—

Peter’s eyes snapped open.  It was then that he realized his mistake.  And to make the mistake with Michelle, someone who noticed everything…

But then again, it could _only_ have happened with Michelle.  Michelle Jones was the only person who could make him so flustered that he forgot that Spider-Man didn’t know who she was, let alone her name, or her nickname (which she herself said only her friends called her).

“Jesus, Parker.” Peter groaned under his breath, sitting up in bed. “You _idiot_.”

Peter rubbed his forehead, trying to ward off the headache he knew was inevitable.  Calling Michelle by her nickname was second nature to him now, and he hadn’t been able to stop it from slipping off his tongue.  But then again, she was shocked and dazed from the incident.  Maybe she didn’t notice.

Peter snorted as soon as the thought entered his head.  She was _MJ_.  Of course she noticed.  She noticed everything.  There was no point planning for what to do if she knew his secret.  Peter had to plan for how to approach the subject to her.  It was too late to do anything preventative.  No, Peter had shut the door on that option the moment he was unable to shut his mouth.  Damage control, that was what he needed to do now.  It was the only thing he _could_ do.

 

When Peter made it to school the next day, he was a nervous wreck.  He had barely slept the night before, had hardly touched his breakfast.  May even thought that he was sick, insisting on checking his temperature before he left the house.  Part of Peter thought that it would’ve been easier to lie to her and say he was ill, so that he wouldn’t have to face MJ at school.  But Peter hated lying to his aunt, and besides…he wasn’t very good at it.  Instead, he took his usual subway train to school (with people giving him a wide berth due to his appearance), grabbed the books he needed from his locker, and made his way to his first class.

Michelle was already there when Peter arrived, sitting in her usual seat that was one row over and two rows up.  Her messy curls were tucked into her usual haphazard bun, and she was wearing a grey t-shirt with a blue jacket overtop.  Her posture was hunched over as she doodled in her notebook, paying little attention to those around her. 

Peter kept staring as he walked to his seat, sitting down smoothly and quickly.  Students were still filing in, moving between his line of vision to Michelle, but she still hadn’t looked up.

An uneasy feeling creeped into Peter’s stomach.  Was MJ mad at him?  Was she angry that Peter hadn’t trusted her with his secret?  When he had been running potential confrontation scenarios in his head last night, the possibility of her being angry hadn’t crossed Peter’s mind.

Steeling himself, Peter took a deep breath.  There was only one way to find out.

“Hey, MJ.” Peter called quietly across the desks.

Michelle looked up, glancing over her shoulder at Peter.  She gave him a curt nod before looking back down at her notebook.

The greeting, by anyone else’s standards, might have been a little icy, but it was a typical response from Michelle.  There was no way for Peter to tell if she was mad or not from that interaction.  He was about to get out of his seat and talk to her when the teacher called the class to order, and the opportunity was gone.

Peter spent most of the class staring at his friend, trying to see inside her mind.  Not for the first time, he wished that his spider-sense was less intuition and more telepathic.  If Peter had a nickel for every time he wished he could read MJ’s thoughts, then he would’ve been richer than Mr. Stark.

The moment the bell rang, he began making his way to her, but she already darted out of the classroom, headed to her next class.  Peter thought he’d find her at lunch, but she was mysteriously absent.

“Do you know where MJ is?” He asked Ned, looking around the crowded cafeteria.

“No.” Ned shook his head. “She’s probably reading a new book or something, and didn’t want us to interrupt her.”

“Yeah.” Peter echoed, still scanning the cafeteria. “Probably.”

 

Peter struggled through all his classes that day, barely able to focus on the tasks at hand.  When Peter saw Michelle in chemistry, she was still acting the same, like there was nothing wrong.  Was she really this unbothered by discovering his secret?  Peter wished he could share her carefree attitude; he had already sweat straight through his t-shirt, and had to change into a spare Midtown sweater from his locker.

Decathlon practice after school was the same story.  Michelle didn’t say anything to Peter before or during practice, and Peter was left staring at her as she asked the team questions.  He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice any of Flash’s crude jokes at his expense.  All he could focus on was talking to Michelle.

Peter finally caught up with her after practice.  She was speaking to Mr. Harrington, so Peter dropped his notebook on purpose, the pages scattering everywhere.  He told Ned to leave the papers, that he could get them himself.  He took his time cleaning them up, just finishing as Mr. Harrington left the auditorium.  That was when Peter spoke up.

“Hey, MJ.” He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. “Can—can we talk?”

“Sure.” She walked over to him, handing him one of his papers that he had missed on the ground. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I-I just—yesterday, I—you know…” Peter trailed off, his ears flushing pink.  He couldn’t find the right words to say.

“Yesterday…what?” Michelle asked in confusion, her brow furrowed. “What about yesterday?”

Peter frowned. “What do you mean, what about yesterday?”

“I mean, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Peter.” Michelle pulled her backpack over her shoulder. “Did something happen yesterday?”

Peter nodded slowly. “The car crash…?”

“Oh.” Michelle’s face slipped for just a second before returning to her neutral expression. “Did you see that?  I didn’t spot you in the crowd…”

“You didn’t spot—you—” Peter faltered again. “What?”

“It was pretty busy, though, so I guess that’s why.” She shrugged. “Thanks for the concern, but I’m fine.”

“You’re…fine.  Right.  Because Spider-Man saved you.” Peter said slowly.

Michelle nodded. “Yeah.  You saw it, right?”

Peter blanked for a moment before stammering out a response. “Y-yeah!  Yeah, I saw it.  From the crowd, right.  It was…yeah.  He saved you.”

“Lucky me.” Michelle said, glancing at her watch. “I’m kind of running late, Peter.  Was there anything else you needed to talk about?”

Peter’s breathing was evening out, his heartbeat finally slowing.  Was it possible…Michelle really hadn’t noticed? “No, that…that was it.  I just wanted to check up on you.”

“Okay.  Well…see you around.” Michelle waved slightly before exiting the auditorium.

“Yeah.  See you.” Peter said weakly, watching Michelle disappear.

Peter couldn’t believe his luck.  Had Michelle really not noticed Spider-Man call her MJ the day before?  He thought it couldn’t be true, but…maybe the adrenaline and shock of the entire incident had distracted her.  Maybe she really hadn’t noticed.  Maybe, for once in her life, Michelle Jones hadn’t been completely observant.

Peter breathed a sigh of relief, a small smile creeping onto his face as he exited the auditorium.  For once in his life, luck seemed to be on his side.

 

Michelle watched Peter walk down the steps of the school, a spring in his step.  When he reached the fence, he glanced around quickly before jumping over, landing smoothly on the other side.  He dusted himself off before continuing on his way.  From her spot behind the stone steps of the school, Michelle sighed.  She really had no idea how Peter had kept his powers a secret this long.  But for now, she would help him do it.  After all, he had saved her life.  The least Michelle could do was save his secret.

Of course, neither of them knew the trouble that lied ahead, or how impossible that task would become.  All they knew was the buzzing feeling that came with protecting someone you cared about, and the lengths they would go to help the other person.  And really, in that moment, that was all that mattered.

For a moment, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr @ astronomyparkers!


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